Download 4-1 Outline Notes

Standard 4-1: The student will demonstrate an understanding of political, economic, and
geographical reasons for the exploration of the New World.
4-1.1 Summarize the spread of Native American populations through the Landbridge Theory.
1. According to the Landbridge Theory, Native Americans migrated from Asia to North America
across the land bridge during the Ice Age.
a. Followed herds of animals (buffalo, mammoth)
b. How was the land bridge created?
i. Low temperatures caused the water to freeze and the level of water in the
ocean to drop
ii. The land that once was under water was exposed, creating a land bridge
4-1.2 Compare the everyday life, physical environment, and culture of the major Native
American groupings; including the Eastern Woodlands, the Plains, the Southwest, the Great
Basin, and the Pacific Northwest.
2. The lives of Native Americans depended on the region in which they lived.
a. Eastern Woodlands
i. Location: Eastern part of North America from the Atlantic Ocean to the
Mississippi River
ii. Environment: fertile soil, moderate climate
iii. Food: farming, hunting, fishing
iv. Homes: longhouses from bark and twigs, settled in villages
v. Culture: made birch bark canoes
b. Plains
i. Location: Central North America from north of today’s Canadian border to
present-day Texas
ii. Environment: flat, dry land, few trees, difficult to grow crops
iii. Food: hunting (buffalo)
iv. Homes: tepees from animal skins, nomadic (followed their food source)
v. Culture: used horses for hunting and carry heavy loads
c. Southwest
i. Location: Today’s Arizona, New Mexico, and parts of Colorado and Utah
ii. Environment: desert (hot, dry climate), treeless
iii. Food: farming
iv. Homes: pueblos made of adobe, settled in villages
v. Culture: men governed the village and women owned all property
d. Great Basin
i. Location: Today’s Nevada, Idaho, and Utah
ii. Environment: harsh climate (desert, treeless valley, salt lakes)
iii. Food: hunting, gathering
iv. Homes: huts made of twigs and grass, nomadic
v. Culture: made baskets and pottery
e. Pacific Northwest
i. Location: Today’s southern Alaska to northern California
ii. Environment: rainy climate, heavily forested, coastal waters
iii. Food: fishing
iv. Culture: totem poles, potlatches (a big party where the host gives gifts to the
guests)
f. All the regions had the following in common:
i. Beliefs: Each Native American region depended on their environment to
survive; therefore they had a deep respect for nature.
ii. Government: They relied on each other and lived as a community.
4-1.3 Explain the political, economic, and technological factors that led to the exploration of the
New World by Spain, Portugal, France, the Netherlands, and England; including the competition
between nations, the expansion of international trade and the technological advances in
shipbuilding and navigation.
3. There were three main factors that led to the exploration of the New World by Spain,
Portugal, France, the Netherlands, and England:
a. Expansion of international trade (Economic Factors)
i. Age of Exploration
1. Merchants brought spices from Europe to Asia to trade for profit
2. Water route would be cheaper, quicker way to trade
a. Prince Henry encouraged Portugal to find water route to Asia
b. Other nations began to explore the world to find water routes
b. Advances in shipping and navigation (Technological Factors)
i. Caravel- smaller and faster ship with triangular sails
ii. Astrolabe- measures the height of the sun above the horizon, helping to plot
location and course
iii. Compass- made it possible to determine direction far out at sea
iv. Cartography- map making skills that helped sailors share their knowledge;
this skill was taught at the Portuguese School of Navigation
c. Competition between nations (Political Factors)
i. Each nation wanted more wealth and power than the others
ii. Example:
1. Cause—Spanish found gold and silver, making them very powerful
2. Effect—England and other European nations became interested in
the New World
4-1.4 Summarize the accomplishments of the Vikings and the Portuguese, Spanish, English, and
French explorers; including, Leif Eriksson, Columbus, Hernando de Soto, Magellan, Henry
Hudson, John Cabot, and La Salle.
4. The accomplishments of the explorers influenced the land claimed and settled in the New
World by European countries.
a. Leif Eriksson
i. Viking from Greenland
ii. Sailed northern Atlantic Ocean and settled briefly in North America
iii. The Vikings did not have a good relationship with other Europeans, so North
America remained unknown to most Europeans.
b. Christopher Columbus
i. Sailed for Spain
ii. Sailed west hoping to find a shorter route to the East Indies (Far East), but
landed in the West Indies (San Salvador)
iii. Provided the gateway of Spanish settlement in North and South America
c. John Cabot
i. Sailed for England
ii. Sailed around the Arctic region looking for the Northwest Passage (route
connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans)
iii. Led to England claiming and settling east coast of North America
d. Ferdinand Magellan
i. Sailed for Spain
ii. Crew was the first to sail around the world
iii. Magellan died before the journey was complete
e. Hernando de Soto
i. Spanish conquistador
ii. Explored today’s Florida and southwest United States, causing the Spanish to
settle in this area (called New Spain)
f. Henry Hudson
i. Sailed for England and the Netherlands (Dutch)
ii. Searching for the Northwest Passage
iii. Claimed parts of Canada for the English
iv. Claimed Hudson River and Hudson Bay for the Dutch
g. Robert LaSalle
i. Sailed for France
ii. Searched the Mississippi River for the Northwest Passage
iii. Claimed this area for the French (called New France)